Wasn't that bad last time I was there ('97)... Sandton was supposed to be pretty safe. I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Pretoria a few days and it wasn't too bad at night. Thought it was pretty funny that you had to pay to have your car guarded while parked on a busy public street though.
Everybody (black & white) said don't go to Joburg at night, and from the look of it in daylight, I wouldn't want to. Damn shame whats happening over there. In this country, when you start making enough money that you can afford luxuries, you start buying things to improve your lifestyle. Over there, if you want to keep anything, you have to spend a fortune on security systems first. I read on another thread that thieves are actually going into nice neighborhoods and stealing the grass to sell as sod!